Battlefield Banter
by TheFinalFyler
Summary: Even in battle, people need to talk and relax.
1. Key and Sword

"Anf...anf...anf...well, takes care of those guys." The male thief said, using his cloth cloak to wipe the rotting blood off his knife. He looked around, panting as the battle was just in took most of his strenght. "Alright...where did I put it...?" he muttered to himself as he dug through his cloak. "C'mon! Don't tell me!"  
>he yelled in frustration.<p>

"Colm! Settle down!" A girl yelled from the side lines as she hurried over.

The thief chuckled. "Neimi..I know, I know. Just a bit pissed off I don't have any vulneraries." He replied, his childhood friend tossing him one.

"There, you can have mine..it only has one more helping left, but better than nothing." the archer said, holding onto her bow.

The blue haired thief chugged the potion. "Ahh, thanks Nei." He sighed in relief. "Eirika and the other's are starting on the next floor. You shouldn't lag behind. You can't really fight up close."

The pink haired girl nodded. "Hurry up though, okay? Don't keep trying to loot the bodies. They might be monsters but not all of them have stuff!" Neimi said as she hurried up to the band of warriors.

"I won't." he chuckled, going to a fallen zombie corpse and using his knife to move the rotting flesh around. "Any gold...keys...heck swords? I need a new one and I know that Paladin won't give me his..." he groaned, seeing another member of the mercenary group trudge behind. "Hm..." he said. "Hey! Hey you!"

The girl looked around, throwing her sword over her shoulder. Her eyes came to rest on Colm after a bit of peering in the torch lit darkness. "Me?"

Colm hurried over, his eyes accustomed to the dank darkness. "Marisa, have you seen a scary looking woman around here?" He asked as he came to a halt.

The girl blinked. " A..scary looking woman?" the swordswoman asked. "..is she your sister?"

Colm's hand twicthed under his cloak. '...ouch...I need another vulnerary...' he though. "What? NO! I have no sisters..." he sighed. "Anyway, the girl I'm talking about is very, very beautiful...but very scary too." He explained. "Have you seen someone who fits this?"

Marisa thought for a bit, then shook her head. "Beautiful but...very scary. No, sorry. I haven't. In fact..I don't really understand what you mean, Colm."

The blue hair maled chuckled cooly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well..to tell ya the truth...I'm not exactly too sure either. I just heard from one of Gerik's merc's that there is a female sword fighter here who fits that description. They say she was very talented and was hired for a huge sum."

"A woman sword fighter?" The swordswoman asked, rather confused on the thief's description of the woman.

He nodded. "Yep. Rumors says she'll attack you outta no where if you speak to her without thinking. Scary huh?" Colm chuckled.

The purple haired sword fighter nodded. "Is...is that so?"

Colm put his hand under his chin, his other arm crossing his chest. "Ya know..I bet she does that before her face is so scarred from fighting, that's gotta be it!"  
>he said. "But...under that ugly scar that covers her sad past, she's beautiful." he said, pausing for a bit. "And..that's why she's so scary."<p>

Marisa blinked again, more in disbelief. "A..scarred face and...sad past?" she said, looking away.

Colm started for the staircase that rose to the next floor of the Tower of Valni. "Maybe her lover was killed...and she's trying to avange his death." Colm said.

Marisa quickly followed behind him, listening intently.

"That idea sounds just as plausable, no?" Colm said, turning his head over his shoulder as the two quickly rose to the next level, behind their allies.

Marisa looked around at her allies. "I..guess it goes." She said, trying to spot out another female sword figher. Just as she tried to, there was the familair screech of a Skeleton Soldier calling for allies.

"Ah dammit." Colm said, readying his knife. "Battle calls. But...if you happen to see a girl who fits that description...call me over, okay?" he said, looking around for Neimi. "Gotta go help my friend, see ya!" he laughed, rushing over to the archer. "Leave Neimi alone!" he yelled at a slowly moving zombie.

The Crimson Flash armed her blade. "Well..I am the only female sword fighter here...guess he was looking for me then, he is so clueless." She said, rushing into battle.

Eirika looked over to Marisa, then held up her sword. "Is she serious?"

Seth sighed, looking down from his white horse. "Don't worry too much on the detail Miss..." He said.

The Lord nodded. "...guess your right."


	2. Ax and Dark Magic

"Hey! Hey you!" An ax wielding warrior yelled across the battlefield. Even though Ross and his company were deep in the Valni Tower, he was bored from the fighting.

A red haired shaman looked over, holding his book of black magic. "Uhm...who said that?" he said, looking around.

"Gah..." Ross groaned, running over. He panted a bit, the axes he carried slumped over his shoulders. "About time I tracked you down."

The shaman blinked. "Uhm..hi? Who are you?"

"Ross. And you?"

"Oh, hi there Ross. I'm Ewan." he replied.

"Nice to meet ya, Ewan. I've been looking for someone around my age to talk to. We really need to hang out sometime, got it?" The ax wielding pirate chuckled.

Ewan nodded. "Of course, but why do we have to wait until 'sometime'? Why not now?"

Ross looked at the shaman with a confused look. "I know we just met Ewan, but we're in battle! We just can't hang out!"

The red haired male shrugged. "The others are fighting, so it won't make much of a difference if us two sit out for a bit." Ewan said, holding his flux magic book more loosely and scanning the battlefield, seeing as the other warriors went through a narrow corridor towards the Tower's third floor. One male looked back.

"Hey you two! Hurry up!" The myrmidon yelled.

"We'll catch up Joshua! Just go on ahead!" Ross yelled back. Being with the group longer than Ewan, Ross did have some connection with the other members.

"If ya say so." The red haired swordsman said, walking ahead.

"As I was saying...I might just have started to use magic, but...I feel like I'm pretty good at it. I could handle anything if it came by." Ewan said. Despite his change from anima to dark magic, he did make it look decently easy.

Ross chuckled, twirling one of his axes. "Ya know..I'm pretty confident about my skills too. But it..how do I put this lightly...well, it comes down to a matter of morale."

Ewan nodded. "You sure do seem dedicated. I'm..quiet surprised."

"Hey!" Ross said, taking offense to the comment.

"What? If you want to prove your dedication, why not answer a brainteaser?" the shaman said.

"Oh? Lemme guess..it's like a riddle? Sounds fun!" the pirate said, forgetting the insult rather quickly.

Ewan laughed. "It'll be fun to see you struggle to think of the answer Ross!"

Ross cocked an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" He growled, soon taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "Whatever..let's do this."

The shaman gathered his breath. "Okay, Ross. Here it is: Do you know what a balance is?"

"Of course I do! Who doesn't know what that is?" The ax wielder said cockily. "It's a type of scale with two plates, one on each end. When the weights are the same, the two are even in height." He explained. "If that was the riddle...that was easy."

Ewan laughed a bit again, Ross cocking his eyebrow once more. "Your too funny Ross! But, no...that wasn't it. It was the setup to the brainteaser. Here's the real question." The shaman said as he cleared his throat. "Assume there are twenty five pebbles."

"Pebbles?" Ross cut him off.

"Yes, pebbles. They're really small, as small as peas, and all of them are the same shape, and color." The red haired male said. "Now, in this group, one of them is lighter than the other."

"So you want me to tell you how to find the lighter one?" Ross asked, cutting Ewan off once more.

"What? No! What kind of brainteaser would that be?" Ewan said. "The question is: How many times must you use the balance to find that one peddle."

Ross looked at the shaman, bewildered. "Uhh..." he said, swinging his arms back and forth gently, Ewan stepping away from the axes in Ross' hands. "It's..not twenty four..is it?" He asked, confused.

Once more, Ewan started to laugh. "What? No! That's not it!" he said through the laughter. "But that IS the first time I've heard that answer!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But I understand your thought process. You think you'd need to weight each pebble to find out which one is the lighter one. That's great Ross, you're too funny."

Ross looked at Ewan with a cold stare. "That's not a compliment, huh? You think I'm an idiot, don't ya?"

"What? No! That's not true!...okay it is." Ewan said, laughing at Ross once more. "I did mention how perceptive you are, didn't I?"

"Just you wait...I'll figure it out, I just need time is all." Ross said, grumbling.

"The anticipation is killing me." Ewan snickered.

"To anyone left behind: We are going up to the next floor, so hurry up!" Joshua yelled down the corridor.

"We better get going." Ewan said, starting for the pathway.

"Yea...we should." Ross said, following behind and mumbling to himself about brainteaser.


	3. Feather and Scale

The cackle of a bonewalker was heard in the battlefield. It quickly drew an arrow from it's quiver and aimed at the Pegasus knight in front of it. The confined spaces of the Tower's floors proved to be a major hassle for the flying units of Eirika's small band of soldiers.

"I could use some help...anyone! Eirika... Joshua...c'mon!" Tana panicked. The space in the corridor prevented her flying mount from maneuvering around the arrow. She watched at the bonewalker cackled one more and readied to fire the shot.

"Hold on!" A male yelled, hurling his lance with massive force. The undead soldier looked at the spear rocketing at it. It dropped the bow as the lance shattered it's body. Just as it tried to get up and crawl to safety, a blur rushed by Tana, smothering the fallen skeleton in a massive force. The beast shrieked loudly as it's master jumped off to grab his spear.

Tana sighed, relieved. "Thank you." She said, smiling. She gazed at the male more. "Oh! Sir Cormag!"

The male jumped back onto his trusty wyvern. "Princess Tana." He nodded. He chuckled faintly. "That still has an odd ring, to my ears. You know, I never knew you were a princess at first. But please, no need for the honorifics with me, so please call me Cormag."

Tana nodded, walking her pegasus closer to him. "Cormag it is then. I have a favor to ask you." She said.

Cormag scanned his surroundings to make sure the two were safe. "Very well then, what can I help you with?"

"Well, I'm prone to archers while I'm on the battlefield...as you seen a little while ago." the princess explained.

The wyvern rider nodded. "It is something all of us aerial soldiers need to deal with."

"Well then, I propose that we can watch each other's backs in battle." Tana offered.

"Hm..that is a good idea. A 'buddy system' of sorts. But if you saw an ally in danger, you'd warn him either way, no?" Cormag smirked as he trekked onward, Tana behind him. The group was waiting on Colm to finish picking the lock on the chest he had found, Marisa guarding him.

"Well, of course I would!" Tana said, defending herself, but laughing lightly at Cormag's response. "But it's the fact that we're up so high. I was worried that if I did see an archer, my voice wouldn't carry far enough to reach you." She said. "Perhaps...my pegasus' neighing or your wyvern's shrieking could carry far enough to warn each other...or the others."

"Oh! I see. You are right, we might not be able to hear each other in the heat of battle. But our steeds could be louder than either of us could be." Cormag replied, turning around to check to see if he could spy the thief. "And trust me...my wyvern's mighty shriek could pierce your ears from two leagues away." He smiled, petting his trusty steed. "Isn't that right, Genarog?" he chuckled, the mighty beast nuzzling his head against his master's hand. "A brilliant idea though, Your Highness."

Tana smiled happily. "Really? Thank you!" She said happily. She spied the thief and the swordswoman run up.

"I got some gold! We'll be getting some new weapons when we get outta here!" Colm happily yelled.

Cormag spun around. "Well, if we see any archers, we will use our steeds to warn each other, correct?"

Tana nodded. "Yes, that is correct." She started forward. "And Cormag...thank you." she smiled, quickly going through the corridor to the next floor.

Colm looked at up Cormag. "...hittin' on her huh?"

"I was talking strategy with her, is all." The rider replied, ordering his steed to move forward.


	4. Staff and Sword

As the group trekked up the Tower of Valni, things seemed to get more and more chaotic, as the monsters inside would attack en mass, taking a toll on the strength of the warriors, along with their weapons.

"And..." The red headed myrmidon said, flipping over the attack of a sword wielding Bonewalker, slashing through it with his steel sword. "Killing strike." he chuckled as he landed. He looked at his sword. "Ah crap...no blade left." He sighed, tossing it behind him.

"Ah! Help!" A girl yelled as the blade rattled her way, thinking she was under attack.

"Huh?" the male said, ripping the iron blade from the skeletons hands and running towards the female in need of aid. "Back off of th-eh?"

The girl opened her eyes, staff in front of her. "Oh..Joshua...did you..throw that sword?"

"Ah, Natasha. I'm sorry." he chuckled nervously. "The sword was worthless so...I sorta just chucked it without looking."

"O-Oh." The rattled up cleric said. "It's fine..uhm, do you need any healing done?"

The myrmidon shook his head. "I'm fine, but thanks." He said, starting to walk away. He stopped though. "Hey...I've been hearing a lot of good thinks about you lately." He turned back around. "Everyone's been happy to know that you'll be ready to heal our wounds."

The blond cleric smiled. "Really? That's nice to hear. I do what I can, even if it's not much. But I'm glad that I'm helpful in even the slightest."

"Don't worry, Natasha." Joshua smiled. "Not only do you mend our flesh of it's wounds, but your smile eases our pain as well." he said, catching Natasha blush slightly. "So, well, I lost my bet, but everything turned out for the best it seems, no?"

The cleric gripped her staff lightly. She looked away, her gaze drifting to the floor. "Joshua...I just do what I can to take care of everyone, while at the same time stay out of the way of the fights."

"I know, but I'm just saying..Natasha, you saved all of our lives countless times out there." he said, starting up the next floor, Natasha at his heels. "We have other healers, yes...but you're special. Sure I might be the most cynical of our little lot, but...even I can see that." the myrmidon said as he kept walking.

"J-Joshua...you're far too kind..." She smiled, luckily for her, Joshua not spying her blush that seemed to creep over all of her face.

"Don't be so humble, Natasha. You deserve it."

"If...if you say so." She replied, seeing Joshua stop. "We're here?" She asked, seeing him nod.

"I do say so. Keep it up, okay?" he said, twirling his blade and spying the battlefield.

"I'll do what I can...okay?"

"...nice smile." He said, his tone low so only he could hear it before rushing into the battlefield.

Natasha's blush grew even more."T-thank you..Joshua."

Marisa looked over. "Meh..he's not really my type..." she chuckled in response to the scene she watched.


	5. Dark Magic and Anima Magic

"Luna!" The Summoner yelled as he unleashed the flurry of black magic against the centaur like beast in front of him

The Tarvos roared, swinging it's mighty ax around at the glyph floating around it.

"Now..begone foul beast!" Knoll yelled, shattering the all consuming dark magic around the beast as it fell with a loud thud. He panted a bit, the pages on his book wearing thin from use. "Looks like I'll need to find a new magic grimiore before this one leaves me in the heat of battle..." He said, not turning around as he seen the faint shadow of a mage. He walked forward, trying to ignore her, but the mage follow. Knoll sighed. "Mind...not stalking me, if that is possible?" he asked as politely as he could.

"So..you noticed I was here?" She asked.

"Yes, Lute...what did you expect? When someone is following someone like a shadow, mainly you follow me, I can't help but notice!" He said, turning around. He watched as Lute walked over. "What do you want from me?"

The mage walked closer. She quickly flung her cloak to the side and read aloud from her thunder tome.

Knoll flashed backwards in a quick burst of dark magic. "What was that for?" he yelled as he avoided the thunderbolt.

"Huh..you dodged...I knew you would he dangerous to me if you were around." The purple haired girl said as she put her tome away.

Knoll took a step closer. "What do you mean by that, Lu-" he said, getting cut off by another, sudden blast of thunder, narrowly dodging the bolt. "Will you stop that? Please! Stop!" He yelled. Even though the Summoner had the magical advantage in the Magic Trinity, he knew the mage was quickly and able to attack quicker and faster, as dark magic chants took more time.

Lute backed down once more. "Twice...this is bad, very bad. No one has dodged me twice in a row." the self proclaimed prodigy said.

"What are you talking about?" Knoll asked.

"We are moving to the next floor! Everyone get to the staircase quick!" Seth ordered.

Knoll took the quick opening the paladin brought, vanishing in a wave of black magic.

Lute looked around. "You're quick to escape, too. This is bad..very bad. You are very dangerous and I cannot allow you to stay here and threaten my natural superiority." She said, quickly heading towards the stairway where Seth was.

Knoll kept hidden in the shadows until Lute was out of sight. "Thank goodness..." he sighed, trekking behind the group in order to remain hidden. "She'll kill me if I don't keep an eye out..."


	6. Dance and Light Magic

"Oh child!" A girl sang in the Tower of Valni. Eirika and her band of soldiers were at the sixth floor of the tower, in their attempt to strengthen themselves for the journey ahead.

The male looked over, holding his book of magic. "Uhm..child? Are you talking to me?" he asked.

The girl giggled. "Yes, yes. I'm talking to you. Come here, please. I won't bite, I promise." The red haired woman said, casually waiting in the middle of the battlefield as if nothing would come her way. It was true. A dancer wasn't much of a target when the field was filled with more dangerous fighters, like pirates, wyvern riders, and myrmidons.

"Well..I guess so." The male said, walking over to the woman. "How may I help, my lady?" he asked as politely as a man of the cloth could ask.

"Hm...would you please spin yourself in circle, right where you are." Tethys asked him.

The male, Artur blinked a few times. "Do...you mean like this?" He asked, wondering what she could be thinking. He placed his book of light magic on the floor, then spun himself in the circle, like how the dancer asked. "Was that decent?" He asked, picking up his tome.

"Not bad...not bad at all." The red haired woman said, walking around him, eying his posture. "You...do have a graceful form." She smiled.

"T-thank you...?" Artur said, feeling on edge from the dancer's actions.

"Plus, you have a beautiful face. It's a shame that it would be wasted if you were to stay a simple clergyman."

The monk blinked. "Beautiful...? You...really mean that, correct?" he asked.

Tethys nodded. "Yes, of course I do. You have a very lovely face." She smiled. "Say...would you like to dance with me? You have potential. And, I feel like I should find a partner when this war is over, and I think you would be perfect!"

The clergyman chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I...don't think so. Thank you for the offer, but I think dancing isn't my best talent."

"You never know what you can do until you try." She winked, giggling slightly. "But...from what I was able to gather, I believe that you defiantly have what it takes." she said. "Just trust me on this one, okay? This has a future, unlike the clergymen and the church."

The monk took a slight offense to that. "That is where I need to disagree. You see, this is my calling." he said, seeing Tethys just nod in reply. "W-well..if that is all..may I take my leave?"

"Oh..oh! Yes, you might leave, but only after telling me your name."

"I'm A-Artur." he said, introducing himself. Unlike most of the warriors, Artur was one who kept to himself, praying daily.

"I'm Tethys, the dancer of this little group. Please don't forget it."

"T-Tethys?" He asked.

The dancer nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I'll talk to you later, child. And please think about what I have offered you..sleep on it." She winked once more.

"Tethys! Mind coming over here for a bit?" Colm yelled from the distance.

"Opps, duty calls. Ta-ta." She smiled, rushing off towards the thief.

"B-but I really don't...think it's for me..." Artur sighed, trying to drive the point to the dancer.

Another male chuckled, walking over, a massive steel blade over his shoulder. "Don't worry kid..she's just having fun."

Artur looked over. "Oh..really?"

The mercenary Gerik nodded. "Of course! Just run along with it for now. But she was serious about the offer."

"You too?" The monk sighed.

"Just let it mull around in your mind, got it?" He asked, hearing boney cackling in the distance. "Well..catch you later." Gerik chuckled, hurling his blade into the air, jumping after it and coming crashing down on a bonewalker. "Gotcha!"

Artur sat there for a bit. "Become a dancer...I'll sleep on the idea."


	7. Blood and Sand I

"Joshua...are you alright?" Natasha asked, following the swordmaster through the sands of Jehanna. Eirika's group had been moving down the continent in search of one of the many things that were on her list, so to say. They had heard rumors of Ephraim heading towards the desert capital, so, to try their luck once more, the band of warriors had started on their way.

"I'm fine, Natasha...don't worry, okay?" he said, hand resting on the sheath of this killing edge.

The cleric nodded slowly, only doing so in order to let him relax. Ever since the group had arrived, he had been on edge.

"We're here." Seth had said, walking next to his steed, as the sands were easily slowing down their pace.

As the mighty palace came into view, the Grado army was besieging the place.

"W-what's going on?" Eirik yelled in shock.

"Dammit...they arrived before us...quickly, to arms!" Seth ordered as he quickly saddled onto his horse, drawing his mighty lance. "Tana! Cormag!"

The two flying infantry hurried over, their mounts kicking up sand in the process. "Yes Sir!" They both said, landing in front of Seth.

"Can you two fly ahead and see if there are any archers, snipers, or mages we need to worry about?" he told the two.

"We shall try. But seeing as how the wind could stir up a sand storm, I doubt any archers would be here." Cormag said, holding his lance in hand, and Genarog's reigns in the other.

"That is true, but we need to make sure." The Paladin replied.

Tana looked to the Wyvern Knight. "If anything, remember our plan?"

The knight nodded. "That is true." He looked over to Seth. "We'll take care of it." He said. He snapped the reigns, his mighty steed flapping it's wings and flying into the air towards the Hall, Tana at his side.

"What about us?" Ross asked.

"We wait here until the-" Seth started, seeing Joshua run ahead, as if his life depended on it.

"Joshua! Get back here!" Natasha yelled. "Joshua!"

"What's he doing? He'll get himself killed!" Marisa snapped.

"He DOES like to gamble, after all..." Colm replied. "Look, we need to go after him, alright?"

Seth sighed. "Very well then...let's make haste." he ordered, the group hurrying over to the swordsmaster as quickly as he could.

The Grado army, preoccupied with the castle, was already inside, a few men remaining outside, one being a Wyvern Knight flying around the castle and keeping a watch.

"Hm..." he said, spying the flying mounts of Eirika's ground.

Cormag looked around, seeing the wyvern. "Tana! We need to inform everyone, now!"

Tana looked over. "Wait, what's wrong, Cormag?"

"We need to go, now!" he order, quickly making a sharp turn backwards.

The pegasus knight nodded, quickly turning around with him. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later..." the male replied.

"I swear..if they touched her.." Joshua growled, his killing edge ready for battle. He rushed inside the halls, looking around for any signs of enemy intrusion. He had seen a few signs of struggle. "...HEY!" He yelled out. "The the hell out of this place, ya got it?"

Footsteps could be heard now, all rushing towards the cocky swordsmaster.

He looked on as they flooded the room. "Heh...Natasha..if I don't make it outta here alive...sorry, but..I'm a gambling man, as you know." He said to himself.

Eirikia and her band of soldiers quickly entered the halls, thankfully large enough to hold Cormag's mount.

"Where did he...?" Natasha started, gasping at the sight that her eyes fell on.

"...wow..he meant business." Colm replied. The sight of gruesome. The butchered bodies of the Grado soldiers lied in pools of blood on the floor, some arms cut off of their bodies. The walls were stained with blood, and some dripped down from the ceiling.

"J-Joshua...did this?" Natasha asked, scared, gripping her staff tightly.

"Like I said..he meant business." The thief replied. "C'mon, follow the blood." He said, looking down to see a thin line of blood head off to the left after a long stretch of hallway.

The group quickly went on, Natasha lagging behind. "Joshua...how...could you...?" she started, hearing a raging yell echoing from in front of them.

"He's here." Ross said, keeping an eye out as they turned the corner in the hall, seeing nothing but more dead Grado soldiers. "He's been around here..." He said.

"And there he is." Colm replied, pointing down the hall. The group looked on, seeing him finish off a knight.

"J-Joshua!" Natasha yelled, running towards him.

Eirikia started, but was held back by Seth. "Let her..." he said.

Joshua looked over, whipping his blade to throw the blood off. He didn't say a word, just turned his head.

"Why did you run off?" The cleric demanded.

"It's personal..." he replied, taking a few steps away, but Natasha grabbed his wrist.

"No! You are staying here! Answer me!" She demanded. The red haired male stood silent. "I said answer me!" She yelled once more. "J-Joshua please..j-just answer me..."

"..my mother lives here..." she quietly replied.

"She..she does?" The blond cleric asked.

"...she's the queen."

Natasha gasped, the shock of it making her mind go blank, unable to reply, just babble incoherently "Y-y-you...m-m-mean..y-y-your..?"

"I'm the prince of Jehanna, yea." he replied. "I need to make sure she's alright."

Natasha nodded slowly. "Just..let me heal you, okay?" She said, focusing through her staff to heal the swordmaster's wounds. He bit his lip, some of the battle wounds were very deep.

"Nng..." he groaned, as she finished. "Thanks Natasha..."

She smiled lightly in return. "Go see..if she's okay. I'll tell the others."

He smiled in return. "..thanks Nata...that smile just made my day." he chuckled, spying her blush. "Go on..and be safe." he said, running down the corridor.

Natasha stood there as her allies walked over.

"How was he?" Marisa asked.

" Well..." She started, explaining what she knew.


	8. Blood and Sand II

"Hold off the forces!" Seth ordered. "We need to give Joshua time to sort out the problem here!" he said, striking down a fighter as he tried to counter.

"How much time do you think he'll need? They won't stop coming dammit!" Ross asked. He slid past the lance of a knight, bashing the hammer-like ax he wielded against the thick armor the Grado trooper wore, only to have Ewan finish the soldier off with a blast of dark magic.

"Just give him what he needs, got it?" Marisa snapped, flipping over a rival mymidon's blade, crashing downward with her own. Colm, the sneaky devil he was, leaped over the pink haired myrmidon and in front of the wounded Grado troop, quickly finishing him off with a few, skillful sword strokes. "I would have had him..." she grumbled, looking around for any other Grado forces.

"Your welcome." Colm chuckled, flicking his blade clean of blood. "Everyone alright?"

"Tana and Cormag are still scouting around...I heard L'Arachel tagged along and found one of her old allies. So..they're leading her around to find him." Ross said.

"...how did you know that?" Eirika asked.

"When your my age, you get to wander around and listen to people, and they don't really mind what they say." he smirked, putting his axes on the leather straps on his waist.

"He's right." Ewan replied.

"Anyway, we should wait here for them to return. We should tend to any wounds we might have, in case of reinforcements." Seth said, the bang of warriors nodding in agreement.

* * *

><p>"I wish that you would have stayed behind, Natasha." Joshua said, walking down the corridor towards the throne room.<p>

Natasha followed close behind him. "I couldn't just leave you alone...who knows what could have happened?"

" If I ended up loosing, well, lady luck's smile still hasn't been on me yet." He chuckled, trying to lighten the grim mood. The cleric didn't laugh. Joshua sighed.

"Do you know...who's doing this?" She asked.

"Nope..not at all. But we're getting close to the throne chamber...we'll see soon enough."

Natasha nodded slowly as the two rounded the corner. The room, stained with the blood of the royal guards, was empty save for one figure in the distance, leg crossed over his other, sitting on the throne with a bored, yet worried look on his face.

Joshua's eyes wandered the room before lying on the figure. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed his killing edge and readied it for combat. "Natasha..stay here, understood?"

"I'm coming with you. You are not leaving me again, you understand?" she replied.

The swordmaster sighed. "Fine..but if things get dicey, leave." he ordered, seeing the blond cleric grip her staff and nod. The two hurried down the corridor. "Get off that throne! It's not yours!" Joshua yelled as loud as he could as he drew near.

The figure shot his head up. He grabbed the sword on the side of the throne and stood up, taking a few steps forward. "You...could it be...?"

The red haired gambler stopped in his tracks. "Carlyle?" he said in shock. "H-how...how could this have happened? You...you taught me everything I know about the blade. Why you..of..of all people..."

The rival swordmaster brushed some hair out of his face. "You've returned...but now, it's too late, far too late." he replied.

The red haired male growled a bit. "How dare you! I'll kill you where you stand!" He yelled. "Now...arm yourself!"

Carlyle sighed. "You won't understand, no one does." He said, holding his blade into the air. "I...I just wanted it to be the two of us...!" The sword blinked a deep green color.

"H-huh?" Natasha said, worried.

Joshua turned his head. For the time, he had forgotten about her. "Get out of here...this is between me and him!" He barked.

A mighty gust was heard, a blast of mighty wind soon surging outward from the sword.

"J-Joshua!" Natasha yelled.

The red haired swordsman turned around, putting himself in between Natasha and the blast of razor-like wind. He bit him lip to keep in his pained cry.

The lone swordsmaster lowered his wind sword. "...you too will soon that feeling, Joshua." He said, rushing at the wounded male.

Natasha peeked out from behind Joshua. "No you don't!" she said. She wrapped her arms around the gambler and dropped down to the ground, narrowly dodging Carlyle's attack.

"Quick, aren't you? But not quick enough." He said, flipping the wind based blade into a reverse grip in his hand. "Now..feel the pain..." he said, stabbing downward.

"N-No!" Joshua yelled. He scrambled to his feet, shouldering Carlyle before his blade could touch Natasha. The two sprawled to the ground, their blades tumbling along the ground. "Don't you dare touch her!" Joshua yelled, grabbing his former master's neck in a vice-like grip. He growled, raising his fist as far as he could, punching the love torn swordmaster repeatedly in the face, with as much force as he could.

Carlyle took each blow, his arm slowly extending to his blade, as the two blades did not tumble far. He quickly slashed at his former student, leaving a massive gash on his right side.

Joshua, grabbed his side, letting out a cry of pain. "Y-you son of a bi-" he started, feeling the wind sword's hilt collide with his face. Carlyle slowly got up from under the gambler, proceeding to attack with a quick succession of sword slashes.

Natasha looked on in fear. " J-Joshua!" She yelled in agony, seeing his body being kicked over. She fell to her knees, on the verge of tears.

The heart torn swordsmaster walked over. "I'm sorry to do this..."

"J-Joshua..." the blond girl said. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. "I...I won't let you hurt him...!"

"...the bonds of love...strong until death...how true it is."

"I'm not letting you touch him!"

"..I..I am sorry." Carlyle said, flipping the word to a reverse grip once more. He went down, ready to drive his blade into Joshua's chest.

"N-No!" Natasha screamed, horrified. She grasped Joshua close to her, ready to die with him if it called for it. She closed her eyes, waiting for the blade's sting. Instead, she heard an odd sound, like wood being cut. She slowly opened an eye. "H-Huh?"

"How are you still alive?" Carlyle asked, gritting his teeth and pushing down as hard as he could.

Joshua chuckled weakly. In his right hand, he had Natasha's staff gripped tightly. "And..you said this thing wasn't ready for combat." he chuckled against, pushing the swordsmaster off the two.

"Y-You idiot!" Natasha scolded, gripping her staff and healing Joshua's wounds.

The chuckle slowly became a laugh as the gambler jumped up and stretched. "As good as new! Thanks Natasha." He said to her. "Now...stay away from the guy, and we'll be fine." He chuckled as he rushed for his blade, dropping to his knees and skidding on the ground under Carlyle's attempted counterattack. The red haired male couldn't help but laugh as he launched off the ground, blade in hand. "You gotta try better than that! C'mon! Step it up! I thought you were a master!"

The former teacher growled, Joshua's taunt getting to him. "I'll show you! I'll show all of you!" he yelled, blindly rushing for his former pupil. The red haired male blocked each stroke gracefully. "Just drop your arms!"

"How about no?" Joshua smirked, jumping backwards from the thrust Carlyle had attempted. "Come at me." he smirked, Carlyle, once again, falling for the taunt and attacking, leaping into the air in an attempt to slice Joshua right down the middle of his body. The red hair twisted his body around, dodging the attack and readying for his next. He blinked out of view.

"Where..where did he go?" The now rage blinded swordsmaster barked, feeling Joshua slice his body in blinding speeds. "G-Gahh!" he yelled in pain as the blade tore at his flesh. Joshua ended his blindingly fast assault, the finisher was a simple, quick, stab through Carlyle's stomach.

"Now...lie down and die...you have brought shame to Jehanna..." the prince of Jehanna said, tearing his blade out of Carlyle's body.

The rival male clenched his side, coughing up blood. "J-Joshua..." he coughed, falling to his knees in pain he had never felt.

"I shouldn't even give you a warrior's death..." he replied, putting his hand on his teacher's shoulder. "Rest in peace." he said, before driving his blade through Carlyle's heart.

Natasha, who had been watching everything from the sidelines, bit her lip. "...it's over, huh?"

Joshua pulled his blade out, cleaning the blood. "Yes...this battle is, for once."

"I..I'm sorry it had to..come to killing him." She said, slowly walking over.

The red haired male nodded, sighing lightly. "Are you alright?"

"Be...besides being a bit scared still..I'm not hurt."

"That's good...we should wait here for the others." the male said, picking up the wind sword and looking at it. "..you fool..."


End file.
